Mt Barker vote opposes housing growth

Mount Barker Council in the Adelaide hills has unanimously rejected a State Government plan to double the area's population.

A 30-year plan for Greater Adelaide proposes developing about 1,300 hectares of land for housing.

Mount Barker mayor Anne Ferguson says the area lacks the infrastructure to cope with such growth.

"The massive and rapid growth ... will put enormous pressure on health and education and public transport and waste water and road works," she said.

"It just creates a whole host of negative impacts that we really don't need to deal with.

"How big a suburb would that be? Can you imagine 9,000 homes? I can't, I can't. I just can't visually do that."

Premier Mike Rann says there have been two years of public consultation and he is confident any differences will be resolved.

"What we're trying to do to make sure that there's proper development for the future and I think the Mount Barker Council over the years may have regretted some of its former decisions on planning," he said.

"What we're trying to do is to get the process right."

SA Planning Minister Paul Holloway says all submissions on the growth strategy will be considered.

"If every council said we don't want growth in our area, and they tend to do it these days, then what are we supposed to do, just stop all growth?

"At the end of the day, the Government has to weigh up the arguments and look we will listen to all reasonable arguments."